Purdue big man Zach Edey posted a career-high 40 points, 16 rebounds and a big block Sunday to propel the Boilermakers into the program’s first Final Four since 1980 with a 72-66 victory over Tennessee.
The 7-foot-4 center cruised his way to a victory in a back-and-forth battle between the nation’s top two players, edging out Tennessee All-American Dalton Knecht, who finished with 37 points.
Fittingly for this matchup, Edey crushed Knecht’s layup as the Northern Colorado transfer drove to the basket while trailing by five with 33 seconds left, ending desperate comeback hopes flights.
Top-seeded Purdue (33-4) put aside last year’s big disappointment — a first-round loss as a No. 1 seed — to book the trip to Glendale, Ariz. . On Saturday, the Boilermakers will face Duke or North Carolina State in the national semifinals.
“We had to accept it,” Purdue coach Matt Painter said of the abuse that occurred last year. “Sometimes when you sit there and be honest with yourself and accept it, great things can happen.”
No. 2 seed Tennessee (27-9) was seeking its first Final Four appearance, and Vols coach Rick Barnes was denied the second trip of his 38-year career to the most big scene in college basketball.
It was a scrapfest game played in front of a stunning crowd full of Purdue fans from Indiana.
They were looking for history, and they got it — along with the game ball that Fletcher Loyer tossed about 20 rows into the stands when the buzzer sounded.
With the school’s former coach, 87-year-old Gene Keady, sitting in the stands, this game sometimes felt like a dusty old throwback.
Purdue fed the ball to Edey in the post, and although UT’s gripping, stocky defense made a few forays – even blocking two of its shots – foul trouble piled up for Tennessee and Edey wore them down, but barely. He finished 13-of-21 from the floor and lived at the foul line, where he went 14-for-22.
Meanwhile, the 3-point arc that came six years after its inception during Purdue’s last trip this far in the tournament was barely a factor for the Boilermakers. They went 3 for 15 from long range.
“Obviously we wanted to isolate Zach and get him there,” Painter said. “We missed a lot of 3s that we usually make and we missed a lot of free throws. We stuck with that.
How close was this match and match? There were eight lead changes and six ties. Even more telling, with 5 minutes left, the teams were tied at 58, and Knecht and Edey had scored 31 points on 12 baskets.
According to OptaSTATS, this was the first time opposing players scored more than half of their team’s points in an NCAA tournament game.
The game, however, came down to three 3-point attempts. Knecht missed two open looks, first with his team trailing by three at 3:09, then again on the next possession when trailing by six.
In between, Lance Jones was spotted from the corner for a 3 that gave Purdue a 66-60 lead and some breathing room.
The final blow came when Tennessee tried to dig into a 69-64 deficit. Knecht went down the lane and came back up, but Edey, playing in his 39th minute, rushed in and neatly saved the shot.
Knecht finished 14 of 31 from the floor. After making his first four 3-pointers, he made 2 of 8.
“Our guys really fought,” Barnes said. “We faced a guy with a unique game.”
Edey is the first player with more than 40 points and at least 16 rebounds in an NCAA tournament game since Loyola Marymount’s Bo Kimble had 45 points and 18 rebounds in a 1990 game against New State. Mexico.
Edey was named the Midwest’s Most Outstanding Player. Joining him on the all-region team were Knecht, Braden Smith (Purdue), Baylor Scheierman (Creighton) and Zakai Zeigler (Tennessee).
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